Silicon Valley Score

Wage & Hour Mistakes - Not Reviewing Your Payment Policies
Misclassifying Non-Exempt Employees as Exempt Employees
Failing to Provide and Document Rest & Meal Breaks
Failing to Have an Adequate Sexual Harassment Prevention Program
Ignoring Requests for Accommodations and Failing to Engage in the Interactive Process
Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors
Being Inconsistent With How You Handle Employee Issues
Failing to Document Issues
Ignoring Conflicts
Waiting Too Long to Seek Professional Advice

A bit more detail on Wage & Hour Mistakes

In 2003, the Department of Labor collected over $200 Million in back wages for employees who were not paid correctly. Almost $10 Million of that came from restaurants, over $2 Million from hotels and motels, $8 Million from health care, and over $1 Million from temporary help. That figure continues to increase.California’s Sue Your Boss law encourages employees and their attorneys to sue employers for any violation of the Labor Code and can provide substantial windfalls if successful.

Even honest mistakes result in costly litigation. An employer can expect to spend over $100,000 in defense costs to win a wage & hour case at trial. Triple that number if they lose.

The most common wage & hour mistakes I see are:

Misclassification of exempt versus non-exempt employees
Failure to document meal and rest breaks
Failure to pay all wages owed immediately upon termination
Failing to pay non-discretionary bonuses
Having ambiguous or hard-to-understand commission policies
Charging employees for tools, uniforms or equipment
Failing to pay employees for time spent traveling

There are ways to avoid costly litigation, starting with a review of your current practices. If you have never had your wage and hour policies reviewed by an attorney, or haven’t done so in over a year, you are a prime target for a wage & hour lawsuit.

This excerpt comes from an article contributed by Phillip J. Griego & Associates (www.griegolaw.com)